Prayers go on, sometimes out of sight, in prep football
Across America, most high school football seasons are winding down
Surrounded by a slew of players with their arms draped over shoulders, West Bloomfield High School assistant coach Justin Ibe bowed his head and led a Christian prayer before a recent Friday night game.
Forty yards down the sideline, three Muslim young men were having a quiet moment of their own.
āAmeen,ā the players quietly said, using the Arabic word for amen.
Across America, most high school football seasons are winding down. Thousands of games, the first since the Supreme Court in June ruled it was OK for a public school coach near Seattle to pray on the field. The decision prompted speculation that prayer would become an even bigger part of the game-day fabric, though that hasn't seemed to be the case.
Fouad Zaban, the head coach at Fordson High in Dearborn, calls the area just outside Detroit the āMiddle East of America" and it is indeed home to thousands of people of Arab descent. After the court ruling, Zaban said, he was flooded with requests to use his platform and constitutional right to pray publicly. After thinking about it, he chose to keep his team's prayers behind closed doors to avoid potential anti-Islamic jeers from fans in other communities.
āThat was a concern that they were going to get backlash,ā Zaban said.
With the nation's culture wars spilling into education, it is challenging to have teachable moments about big news ā like a precedent-setting court ruling ā and coaches such as Zaban would rather punt than pray publicly.
āIt's harder, whether you're a coach, librarian, teacher or counselor," said Lara Schwartz, an American University professor whose specialties include campus speech and constitutional law. āThere are activist groups targeting books and ideas, saying you can lose your license if you have these conversations. That to me is a threat to people having good constructive dialogue in classrooms, or with coaches."
In Michigan, some teams with multiple religions represented on their rosters have found ways for everyone who wants to participate to do so if they wish.
āWe donāt force anybody to do that,ā said Ibe, the defensive line coach in West Bloomfield. āWe just take that moment to really just come together and give glory to God at that moment.ā
At Crestwood High School in Dearborn Heights, where most of the football team is Muslim, the entire team gathers before practices and games to pray on one knee. First, most of the players recite Al-Fatiha. Then, a player says a Christian prayer to the attentive group.
āBetween those two prayers, theyāre pretty much all the same," said Adam Berry, a senior and a team captain. āAsking God for protection, asking God for forgiveness, and asking God for any way to help us through our game.ā
According to a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, a majority of Americans think a coach leading a team in prayer (60%), a player leading a team in prayer (64%) and a coach praying on the field without asking the team to join in (71%) should all be allowed in public high school sports.
Still, the team plays it safe at Fordson High, where coaches clear the locker room and leave players to pray if they wish.
āNo one can ever say that we were involved in it," Zaban said, adding he just wants to coach instead of drawing attention.
Hassan Shinawah, a senior and team captain at Fordson, said players supported keeping their prayers in the locker room and away from the public.
āWe donāt know if people are comfortable," he said. āWe donāt know what their opinions are about it. We just donāt want any conflict with anybody else.ā
In the South, at least three high schools, two in Alabama and another in North Carolina, received letters in recent months from the Freedom From Religion Foundation. The nonprofit that advocates for atheists and agnostics said it fielded complaints about the promotion of religion surrounding football games. Jefferson County (Ala.) officials were asked to āensure that its schools are no longer scheduling prayer at school-sponsored events, including football games."
The Associated Press left multiple messages for athletic directors and principals at the schools in both North Carolina and Alabama that were not returned.
Outside Detroit, coaches gave time and space for their players to pray, showing the teenagers that accomdations can be made for different faiths as well as the right to decline.
At West Bloomfield High, an assistant football coach once walked miles with a Jewish player ā whose faith would not allow him to ride in a car one particular day ā to make sure he got to his hotel after a road game. The unique nature of having Christians, Muslims and Jews playing on the same team was not lost on one of the players who participates in a pregame Islamic prayer.
āSome other teams, they probably donāt have the same thing," said Mohamed Menisy, a 16-year-old junior offensive tackle. āWeāre one team, one family. We just respect each other.ā
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Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the APās collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.